Head of the Class

Bauer College has added an impressive roster of faculty to its ranks. Six new tenure track professors joined the college in Fall 2023, bringing earned expertise in critical areas of scholarly inquiry ranging from climate finance, to technological innovations, shareholder activism and financial markets.

“At Bauer, our world-class faculty help our students gain knowledge and shape the business world of tomorrow,” Dean Paul A. Pavlou said. “These new additions to our faculty allow us to continue that mission of offering leading-edge education founded on research and grounded in the real world.”

Learn more about each new faculty member below.

Tenure-Track Faculty

Mehdi Farahani
Assistant Professor
Department of Decision & Information Sciences

Earned Ph.D. from University of Texas at Dallas
Taught previously at Miami Herbert Business School at University of Miami
Research focus includes socially responsible operations, service operations management and supply chain contracting

Leila Hosseini
Assistant Professor
Department of Decision & Information Sciences

Earned Ph.D. from University of Texas at Dallas
Taught previously at Temple University
Research themes include identifying managerial and operational solutions to improve efficiency in technology markets, particularly cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and real-time digital advertising.

Byung Lee
Assistant Professor
Department of Marketing & Entrepreneurship

Earned Ph.D. from Columbia University
Was a UH Doctoral Symposium Fellow in 2023
Research explores consumer response to recommendations from technology or social others.

Mehdi Farahani, Assistant Professor, Department of Decision & Information Sciences

Leila Hosseini, Assistant Professor, Department of Decision & Information Sciences

Byung Lee, Assistant Professor, Department of Marketing & Entrepreneurship

Haaris Mateen, Assistant Professor, Department of Finance

Paolina C. Medina, Assistant Professor, Department of Finance

Steve Sauerwald, Professor, Department of Management & Leadership

Haaris Mateen
Assistant Professor
Department of Finance

Earned Ph.D. from Columbia University
Also earned an MBA from Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
Research concerns climate economics, public finance and financial economics.

Paolina C. Medina
Assistant Professor
Department of Finance

Earned Ph.D. from Northwestern University
Taught previously at Texas A&M University
Research is in the field of household finance, with a focus on how psychological biases in consumer behavior affect outcomes in financial markets.

Steve Sauerwald
Professor
Department of Management & Leadership

Earned Ph.D. from University of Texas at Dallas
Previously taught at University of Illinois at Chicago
Research interests include corporate governance, shareholder activism, strategic leadership, CSR, and sustainability.

Non-Tenure Track Faculty

Margarita Barcenas
Adjunct Faculty
Department of Finance

Earned MBA from Bauer College and MS from University of Arkansas
Works as a Certified Financial Planner® (CFP) with Frontier Investment Management
Member of the Bauer Alumni Association Board for 10 years, serving as President and receiving a UH Distinguished Alumni Award in 2016.

Bonnie Buffaloe
Adjunct Faculty
Department of Marketing & Entrepreneurship

Earned MS from Bauer College and certificates in Digital Marketing Management and Marketing Analysis
Works as Communications Manager at the University of Houston Law Center
Experience includes conducting social media audits and advertising campaigns, as well as overseeing media engagement at leading global law firms

Matthew Caire
Adjunct Faculty
Department of Finance

Earned MS from Tulane University
Works as a portfolio manager for Vaughan Nelson
Previously worked as a Senior Vice President at Houston Trust Company

Margarita Barcenas, Adjunct Faculty, Department of Finance

Bonnie Buffaloe, Adjunct Faculty, Department of Marketing & Entrepreneurship

Matthew Caire, Adjunct Faculty, Department of Finance

Vanessa Fellers, Adjunct Faculty, Department of Finance

Yonghui "Lay" Huang, Adjunct Faculty, Department of Finance

Michael Kraten, Director of Accounting Program Initiatives, Instructional Assistant Professor, Department of Accountancy & Taxation

Vanessa Fellers
Adjunct Faculty
Department of Finance

Earned MS from University of Michigan
Works as the Firm Operations Manager at Mosaic
Is a Certified Financial Planner® with more than 15 years of professional experience in education and financial services.

Yonghui “Lay” Huang
Adjunct Faculty
Department of Finance

Earned BA from Bauer College
Works as a Certified Financial Planner®, Enrolled Agent, and Wealth Advisor with Corient

Michael Kraten
Director of Accounting Program Initiatives
Instructional Assistant Professor
Department of Accountancy & Taxation

Earned Ph.D. from University of Connecticut and MS from Yale University
Previously taught at Houston Christian University
A CPA, he is a board member of TXCPA Houston and a Leadership Council member of TXCPA

Miguel Lozano
Adjunct Faculty
Department of Management & Leadership

Earned Ph.D. from UT School of Public Health in Houston
Works as a Change Management Consultant and Executive Coach at the University of Texas (UT) M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Also teaches as an adjunct professor at UT School of Public Health and UH-Downtown MBA program

Deborah Stavis
Adjunct Faculty
Department of Finance

Founded the private wealth management firm, Stavis and Cohen Private Wealth, with Eddie Cohen in 2009
Works as a Certified Financial Planner® with more than 35 years of professional experience
Is a founding member of the Barbara Bush Foundation Ladies for Literacy Guild and a member of the Women’s Energy Network, Houston.

Priscilla Zhu
Professor of Practice
Department of Accountancy & Taxation

Earned DBA from Walden University and MBA from City University of New York
Also teaches as an adjunct professor at Houston Christian University and a lecturer at Prairie View A&M University
Research interests include applied digital technologies for accounting practice, business education, corporate governance and international tax.